Week 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series served up one of the most spectacular nights in Contender Series history as the UFC President and CEO awarded SIX UFC contracts after a wild night of fights at a raucous Meta APEX.
It was a night that saw underdogs barking loud, and returning hopefuls making their second chances count, as all five of the night’s winners, plus one notable fighter who lost out in the Octagon, earned themselves UFC contracts.
And, after the action at Meta APEX had concluded, a clearly delighted White headed backstage to visit with Paul Felder, and welcomed Kaik Brito, Trent Miller, Cristian Perez, Alik Lorenz, Roman Gabriel Puga, and Taner Trembley to the UFC.
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The featured bout of the evening saw Brazilian welterweight Kaik Brito score a show-stopping knockout after his back-and-forth war with Namo Fazil went into the final round.
Former OKTAGON welterweight champion Brito settled into his striking early, landing solid calf kicks and connecting with snapping straight shots that Fazil seemingly didn’t see coming. Fazil maintained his focus and looked to walk down the Brazilian, but his punches didn’t seem to carry the same snap as Brito’s.
Brito continued to showcase his speed advantage as he repeatedly connected with Fazil, and used his footwork to move away from danger when Fazil looked to throw back in reply. Despite being outstruck, Fazil continued to keep moving forward, and Brito reacted to that onward pressure by switching to his wrestling and landing a smart double-leg takedown.
The action quickly returned to the feet, where Brito resumed his striking, including a spinning backfist that didn’t quite connect fully. Fazil looked to answer with heavy shots in close, and ended the round gesticulating at the Brazilian as if to say, “Is that all you got?”
Fazil started Round 2 looking to lure Brito into a slugfest and, briefly, the Brazilian obliged him, with the pair both scoring with big shots. A big left hand from Fazil was answered by a spinning back-elbow by Brito as the pair went back and forth, landing heavy strikes.
Fazil’s constant forward pressure was starting to wear on Brito, and the Brazilian’s striking started to get a little less tidy, as the strike tally started to look more even in the second stanza, with Fazil’s shots seemingly carrying the greater weight as the second round wore on.
Then came the moment that closed the show, as Brito loaded up and hit the jackpot in the opening seconds of the final round. The Brazilian came out of his corner and unleashed a flying knee that fell just short of its intended target. Fazil immediately countered with a big right hand that landed clean to send Brito back against the fence. Then, with Fazil closing in, Brito unleashed a sledgehammer of a right hand that knocked Fazil out cold.
It was a stunning way to finish a spectacular night of fights at Meta APEX, as the Brazilian made his second Contender Series appearance count with one of the biggest knockouts we’ve seen at UFC HQ.
Contender Series returnee Trent Miller overcame some early adversity to claim victory as he picked himself off the canvas before dramatically choking out Douglas Henrique Rodrigues in the second round of their middleweight matchup
The opening round started with Rodrigues landing some heavy kicks early, before exploding into a multi-punch combination that put Miller in big trouble. Rodrigues swarmed his man, looking to close out a quickfire victory, but Miller covered up well and eventually managed to fight his way free. Then a heavy kick to Miller’s groin forced the fight to be paused as the American recovered during an injury timeout.
Once the action resumed, a left hand from Miller found its mark as the Brazilian was briefly knocked off balance, and later caught a Rodrigues kick to take the fight to the mat. Miller looked to work from inside Rodrigues’ guard, landing some nice punches and elbows from top position. Rodrigues attempted to work his way to the fence in a bid to find a way back to his feet, but ended up trapped, as Miller continued to punish him with ground strikes until the round expired.
Round 2 started with Miller shooting for a takedown, but getting countered with a guillotine attempt as Rodrigues snatched up the American’s neck. Miller immediately slammed Rodrigues to the mat and landed in the perfect position for a Von Flue choke. Rodrigues didn’t react quickly enough to the position, and ended up being choked out, as Miller claimed a highlight-reel second-round submission victory.
Miller’s finish gave him only the second Von Flue choke in Contender Series history, and crucially, saw him claim a potentially career-changing victory in his second appearance at Meta APEX.
Mexican lightweight Cristian Perez bounced back from Contender Series disappointment last year as he finished in-form Logan Paxton in the second round to claim an emotional win on his return to the Meta APEX.
Paxton started the fight aggressively, but Perez soon found his form and started to clip the American as he stepped into range. It set the table for a closely-contested battle, with the momentum swinging one way, then the other, in a close opening round.
The action caught fire early in Round 2 when a counter-right from Perez dropped Paxton to the mat. Paxton bounced back quickly and looked to fire back with punches of his own, but Perez continued to pick holes in the American’s defenses, and a huge left hook sent Paxton down again. This time he wouldn’t get up, as Perez closed in and landed some nasty ground strikes to put the seal on a second-round finish.
It ended Paxton’s nine-fight win streak, as “Puas” ensured that his second visit to the Contender Series finished with a victory.
Contender Series returnees went head-to-head as Alik Lorenz faced off with four-time IBJJF world champion Mahamed Aly in a light heavyweight matchup, and it was Lorenz who upset the odds with a huge first-round knockout to put himself in the frame for a UFC contract.
Lorenz looked to establish his range Lorenz’s lead calf. But, despite that lower-limb punishment, Lorenz pushed the pace and let fly with some nasty shots that found their mark.
Once he found his range, Lorenz seemingly couldn’t miss as right hand after right hand found the target. And, once a perfectly-timed short right hand landed flush to drop Aly to the canvas, The MMA Lab prospect closed in and finished the job with some nasty follow-up ground strikes to claim the upset victory in decisive fashion.
It gave Lorenz – whose first Contender Series appearance ended in a 30-second knockout defeat – a bounce-back victory as he claimed a memorable first-round KO win of his own.
The night kicked off with an instant Contender Series classic, as featherweight hopefuls Roman Gabriel Puga and Taner Trembley left it all in the Octagon in a wild back-and-forth battle that went all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
The action hit full throttle early as Puga’s heavy hands found their mark early to bust up Trembley’s face. But, rather than rush his work, he wisely opted to take his time and stalk his man around the Octagon, and he got his reward when he dropped his man with a big shot. Puga opted to let his man back to his feet, and nearly got punished for it when Trembley landed a huge uppercut, then stunned Puga with a massive counter-right in the closing moments of the round.
Puga continued to pick Trembley apart through Round 2, using a persistent jab and straight right hands to score consistently. But despite being comprehensively outboxed, Trembley showed that he was still a factor in the fight as he connected with big shots of his own, most notably during a furious flurry at the end of the round that had the Meta APEX crowd on their feet.
Trembley pushed in all his chips in Round 3 as he emerged from his corner determined to pick up where he left off, and had Puga in trouble with some big shots early. Then another big shot forced Puga to cover up and turn his back, which led to Trembley taking his man to the canvas.
It didn’t take long for the fight to return to the feet, though, and both men emptied the tank in a wild final 60 seconds as they each landed punishing shots in an attempt to claim a last-gasp knockout.
In the end, the judges were needed to separate them, and it was Puga who got the unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 29-28. But while Puga exited the Octagon celebrating the victory, Trembley’s performance in defeat will live in the memory after an outstanding back-and-forth battle.
